I was asked to leave an event for female founders because of my baby

I am passionate about this company because it solves a long-standing problem: most scientific research is based on information from students in the United States, while the other 95% of the world’s population is ignored. This leads to serious research gaps, which my co-founders and I hope to address.

I took my baby to an accelerator when he was 3 weeks old

With personal and professional support, I was able to keep my career on track while growing my family. When I was eight months pregnant, I found out Besample had been accepted into Techstars, a three-month in-person accelerator. My husband said he could take care of the three older children while I took care of the baby.

So I arrived with my son Darwin when he was only three weeks old. Techstars was very supportive. They asked if I needed space to nurse Darwin or put him down for a nap. During the demo night, which takes place at the end of the accelerator, they celebrated Darwin as the youngest Techstars resident ever.

It was through Techstars that I got tickets to the Y Combinator Women Founders Conference. Y Combinator is a huge force in the startup world, and I was eager to be inspired by other female founders. I posted that I thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and wondered in the same post if Darwin would make baby friends. I expected babies to be not only welcomed but celebrated.

It wasn’t the case for me.

I was asked to leave during a conference on growing a business while having a baby

Right away, I didn’t notice any other babies. Then I listened to Tracy Young, a mother and founder, talk about her experience as a mother while starting a company. She talked about pumping before investment meetings and the other very significant physical and biological challenges of being a founder with a baby.

Darwin was in a stroller and I was rocking him back and forth to get him to sleep. When he started babbling and cooing, I moved to the back of the room. That’s when someone came up to me and said, “Would you like to take your baby outside? I want people to get the most out of this conference.”

I later learned that she was one of the partners at Y Combinator.

There is tension in the business world about whether there is room for families

I don’t name this woman because I think the problem is bigger than me or her. It’s about this tension that’s happening in the business world right now. For many people, myself included, the pandemic has shown that it’s possible to be a working mother and an active business partner. Others want to maintain the status quo between business and babies, as two completely separate things.

To me, it’s ridiculous. I was asked to leave with a softly cooing baby during a conference that was explicitly about the challenges of being a mother and founder, which was shocking. I realized then that the monster of systemic barriers faced by women entrepreneurs who are also mothers is bigger than I ever imagined.

I would like to see meaningful changes for founders who are mothers

I received a private apology email from the woman who confronted me, but I haven’t heard back from Y Combinator. To me, this shows how exclusive the incubator is. They make token gestures, like hosting a founders’ conference, but don’t follow through with meaningful support for mothers.

I’m not asking for much. Just don’t ask me to leave. Trust me, I’ll come out if my child bothers anyone.

If you really want to make a difference for parents, offer on-site childcare. Change the narrative that tells us that children are a distraction. Instead, see them for what they are: the next generation who will take care of us when we are older.

Imagine future innovators playing together at Y Combinator daycare. That would be the kind of meaningful change that would make a real difference for women entrepreneurs.

Editor’s note: Y Combinator did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.